The Dynamics Laggard, Part 1: Employers Struggle to Attract Microsoft Dynamics NAV Talent

When it comes to finding qualified professionals with Microsoft Dynamics NAV certifications, partners say they are really hurting.

With high demand, a shortage of properly trained Dynamics NAV specialists, and a perceived lack of investment in training by either Microsoft or partners, the Dynamics NAV hiring market seems mired in a cycle where desperate employers can't find the right hires, skilled employees dismiss full time offers in favor of lucrative hourly engagements, and aggressive headhunters cannibalize the employee bases of Dynamics NAV partners and customer to feed the demand of competitors in the same market.

The market conditions for Dynamics NAV skills have had a noticeable effect on consulting businesses.

"What is hurting is the fact that there are no extra consultants available to do extra jobs [and] that is hurting our growth a lot," said Eric Wauters, partner at iFacto Business Solutions NV Belgium and a Microsoft MVP. "What is hurting business as well are the many recruiting companies."

The dearth of Dynamics NAV talent is driving some recruiters to use aggressive headhunting techniques. Some recruiting companies are going after employees at one partner and placing them with another partner.

And according to Nigel Frank International Limited's Microsoft Dynamics Salary Survey 2010/11, the most recent versions of all Dynamics products except Dynamics NAV have the highest level of certification.

"It appears that a large portion of people with NAV 4.0 and/or NAV 5.0 certifications have decided not to get certified in NAV 2009 yet," according to the survey. "This is consistent with observations at Nigel Frank, where demand for this certification from clients is higher than the supply of qualified candidates."